The nightingale and the rose
by Aunt Pops
Summary: "A nightingale?" She asked while approaching the little guy. "Are you lost, buddy?" Ino outstretched her fingers, and the extremely docile bird perched on it. Fluffy. ShikaIno. AU. Based on Oscar Wilde's homonym story.


**A/N:** This fanfic was supposed to be yaoi, but I remembered that my dear best friend likes that very specific ship that I, honestly, hate, so… ShikaIno it is. Take this as an apologize gift for deleting that old ass ItaHina, Toph-no-Baka!

I still can't believe I've written a ShikaIno. Toph must be a fucking goddess.

Enjoy the fluffy ride~

* * *

 **The nightingale and the rose**

Ino was organizing her cashier calmly when something low-flew above her head. She looked up startled, trying to find the source of such fanfare. But all she found was a little bird jumping happily from a flower branch to another. The girl, that was a graduated Biology bachelor, recognized the bird's species, smiling upon noticing which it was.

"A nightingale?" She asked while approaching the little guy. "Are you lost, buddy?" Ino outstretched her fingers, and the extremely docile bird perched on it. "Well, if you were lost, I dare to say you aren't anymore."

She climbed the stairs on the back of the Flower Shop, her access to her home, and put the nightingale on the kitchen counter, getting a fruit to feed the bird. Ino got waken up from her daydream when she heard the shop door's bell ring, announcing she had a customer. The blonde made her way to the shop running, trying to not trip on the stairs. She went to the customer and bowed lightly, smiling sweetly.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. May I help you?" She asked politely.

"Oh, good timing." The brunet man said lazily. "I need flowers."

"…" The shop owner raised a brow. It was obvious that he was looking for flowers, what did he want to buy on a flower shop? Cookies? "I thought you'd need that, Mister."

"Oh, don't call me Mister, jeez, that's too problematic. Name's Shikamaru." The ponytail guy shook his hands in front of his face. "Actually my full name is Nara Shikamaru, but Shikamaru is just fine." He thought about smiling openly, but it would take too much effort, so he just grinned. "And you are?"

"Ino… Yamakana… Ino." She tried to decide what would fit better, going with her first name, since the man had introduced himself by his first name as well. "Nara-san… I'm sorry, Shikamaru-san, do you know what flowers you need?"

"I wish I knew." He said yawning. "It is for a person I hold dearly."

"Dearly?" She asked curious. This guy must be lucky to have a girlfriend; with such laziness the girl should be the next Buddha, to handle the man. "I'm sure roses are the best choice when it comes to lovers." She guided Shikamaru through the store, stopping at the beginning of the roses' aisle. Ino felt something on her shoulder and looked at it, it was the nightingale. "There's a color you'd like to pick?"

"White roses, I want seven of them."

"Seven white roses."

The blonde cut the twigs gingerly, so she wouldn't hurt the other flowers. She walked to the cashier and made a modest looking bouquet with that little amount of roses. Shikamaru asked for the price and she said, and as soon as he got his wallet, the nightingale flew for her shoulder and landed on the brunet's head, surprising him. Ino couldn't help but smile, soon laughing soundly. Shikamaru grinned slightly shy, and the bird left his head, landing on the counter.

"The nightingale liked you." She said between ragged breaths, little tears prickling her eyes, at the same moment she received the payment.

"Is it yours?"

"Nope. He flew by when someone opened the door and now is keeping my company."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, and I do know that's unbelievable." She handed the tiny bouquet to Shikamaru and smiled gently. "Thank you very much, Shikamaru-san."

"Thank you too, Ino-san." He bowed and went away, leaving the shopkeeper alone.

It was early in the night when Ino gathered everything to close the flower shop that day. As soon as she locked the front door, she heard the nightingale singing madly, trying to get her attention. She followed the bird's tweet, finding him on her bedroom. There, on her windowsill, she saw a single white rose and a small folded paper. She took it and opened it, reading its content.

" _White Roses: as pure as your smile_."

Her heart wanted to trick her into think it was Shikamaru's deed. Her mind was certain it was just a coincidence.

* * *

The month went by slowly, the flower shop wasn't rushed. Ino would spend almost all day staring at the people passing by, through the shop's glass door. Every single day, except for weekends, she saw Shikamary walking by the shop, concluding he probably lived nearby. Without even noticing, she got happy every time she saw the ponytailed guy passing by, wondering if he would ever enter the shop again.

It happened soon.

"Good afternoon, Ino-san." Shikamaru leaned his shoulders on the counter, getting the girl's attention.

"Hello, Shikamaru-san. Did you give her the flowers?"

"Yep. Today I came for more."

"You know what you need this time?"

"I do." He said, walking slowly towards the nightingale. "That bird is a psychic."

"You need yellow roses?" She asked, pointing at the rosebush the nightingale was perched.

"Seven."

"Ok."

Ino got the flowers, with the nightingale on her shoulder. She made the little bouquet, as cute as the prior. Shikamaru paid and left the store, humming an unknown song. She sighed deeply, internally praying for the time to pass quicker.

She closed the shop when it was due, noticing the bird's anxiety. She opened the door to her house and followed the hasty nightingale. Just as she suspected, there were roses on her windowsill. Two yellow roses and a note saying:

" _Yellow Roses: as joyful as your eyes_."

Her heart was feeling warm upon the possibility of the lazy man being the source of the notes. Her mind was uneasy, thinking it was a cruel joke.

* * *

Autumn was fading, being replaced by the chilly winter winds. Ino got said, she knew how hard it was to keep taking care of the flowers on her greenhouse. The cold was merciless with such fragile plants. At that moment she was organizing the cashier, decided on closing the store earlier, when the front door opened fiercely.

"You closed already?" The lazy voice was ragged, was he running?

"Not yet." She answered smiling; recognize that voice wasn't that hard. "I can take one more order."

"Thanks. I want…" Shikamaru got interrupted.

"Seven roses, I know that. What color?" She winked playfully, without realizing the light blush on the man's cheeks.

"Blue."

"Blue is too vague, Shikamaru." She pointed to the rosebushes, dropping the suffix. "I have five different shades of blue."

"The lightest. Sky blue."

"That was a great choice; they are the prettiest among the blue ones." She got the flowers, repeating her usual ritual.

"See you in December." He said waving, leaving the shop afterwards.

"At least now I'm sure you'll come back." She whispered to herself.

She closed the flower shop definitely as calmly as she could, even though she was eager to run to her room. She whistled calling the nightingale and climbed the stairs slowly. As soon as she entered the bedroom she saw it. Three blue roses and a folded paper on the windowsill.

" _Blue Roses: as gentle as your care_."

Her heart skipped a beat. Her mind was sure she felt something stronger towards the lazy man.

* * *

As the flower shop had a heater, neither Ino nor the flowers got cold. It was quite fun observing the penguin people, though. She sipped on her hot cocoa as slow as a slug, sighing at an unfulfilled promise. It was December 24th already and Shikamaru hadn't come by yet. But Ino was hopeful, she still had seven days until January, right?

Her daze came to an end when the known bell rang.

"You thought I wouldn't come, didn't you?"

"Do you want me to be sincere or polite?" She answered sarcastically.

"I get it, I get it. Annoyed boar is annoyed."

"Boar?" Ino raised a brow upon his audacity.

"Haha, yeah." He smiled ashamed. "Your name's Ino, and it means boar."

"So if I use your logic, you are a deer." She said bluntly, circling the counter and pointing at his face. "Because Shika means deer."

"We're even." He shrugged, walking to the rosebushes. "Now let's talk about the flowers, shall we?"

"Of course, mister deer, just pick a color and I'll do my magic."

"I want you to choose today."

"Me?" She turned to him, looking confused. "Why me?"

"I trust you as the shop owner." He smiled to Ino and both got startled when they heard the nightingale singing happily.

"It looks like he wants me to pick the pink ones." She pointed to the bird that was perched on the pink rosebush.

"I agree with you."

"So… Pink it is?"

"Sure."

Ino then grabbed seven pink roses and made the bouquet. Shikamaru paid and when he was leaving, he left a little note on the cashier counter. The blonde took the paper and turned it, seeing numbers written on it. It was Shikamaru's phone number. She got her own device and wrote a little message, sending it right away. Soon she got an answer: ' _Thanks for messaging me, I was afraid you wouldn't want to give me your phone number_.'

Silly Shikamaru, they spent the rest of the day talking to each other.

When the sun couldn't be seen anymore, Ino closed the flower shop and climbed the stairs to her home, being followed closely by the nightingale. She found four pink roses on the windowsill, as well as a small note. At that moment she was sure Shikamaru was behind everything, but she really wanted to play along. She then read the note:

" _Pink Roses: as sweet as your voice_."

Her heart was happy. Her min was confused.

* * *

"Happy new year, boar!" Shikamaru entered the flower shop quite excited for his usual self.

"Today is 7th January already, deer, you're late." She was moody.

"Problematic." He mumbled. "What happened?"

"I'm not patient today."

"How?" He scratched his nape. "You are quite calm and serene when you are taking care of the flowers."

"I know, but I badly need a rest."

"Why don't you go on a vacation?"

"The shop is mine and I'm the only employee, Shika."

"That's even more problematic." He sighed, thinking hard. "But can't you at least go out one weekend or another?"

"I don't have friends, Shika."

"Thanks for hurting my feelings." He rolled his eyes. "I'm not your friend, little boar?"

"Friend?" Ino wanted to say she felt something else, but she was afraid. "Yes, you are my friend."

"Cool. We are going out this Saturday and I won't take a no, it is too damn annoying to convince people." He smiled lightly. "Now I need seven orange roses."

"Orange? That's uncommon."

"Don't you like it?" Shikamaru asked anxious.

"That's not it." She shook her head. "I adore them all. People just don't buy the orange ones as much as the others."

"Why?"

"I guess people find them too flamboyant. But how I like flamboyant things, I keep on planting them."

"I see." They stood still, side by side. "Hey, Ino."

"Ah, yea?"

"I'm waiting for you to get the roses."

"Oh my, I'm such a bad seller."

The girl ran to the rosebush and got seven orange roses. She glanced to another rosebush, feeling the sadness inside her heart. That one, from time to time, froze, refusing to grow any flowers, not even on spring. Ino got sad because it was her most gorgeous rosebush. She gave Shikamaru the bouquet and waved lazily – damn, was it contagious? – seeing the (her) deer going away.

She lost track of time, daydreaming, and she only woke up because the nightingale was flying around crazily, singing as loud as his tiny body could. She closed her beloved flower shop and climbed the stairs. Ino took a long shower before checking on her windowsill. When she finally looked at it, she found five orange roses and the usual note. She smiled openly when she reat its content. Shikamaru sure knew how to surprise her.

" _Orange Roses: as truthful as your patience_."

Her heart was warm, even though it was winter. Her mind started to give up.

* * *

The boar girl ran from one side of the shop to another, trying her best to help – alone – seven customers. It was finally that time of the year, the time she got most profit, the lover's day. Even though the most sought flowers weren't in bloom, the other ones were being sold quickly. The nightingale only observed the humans, sitting on the counter.

He tweeted when he saw a known face, flying to it and landing on the guy's shoulder. The man smiled and leaned on the counter, waiting for Ino to finish helping the other customers. When that finally happened, he took the bird with his fingers and gave him to the blonde. Shikamaru didn't say a single word and just walked to the rosebushes, knowing Ino would follow him.

"Have you waited long?"

"About thirty minutes." He answered, turning to the flower shop keeper. "It was quite fun seeing you like that."

"Thanks."

"Your happiness is contagious, did you know that?"

"I didn't." She chuckled. "But I guess you're here for something else."

"Seven champagne roses."

"They are so pretty." She said cutting the twigs. "So delicate."

"That's the reason why I picked them." He said nonchalant.

"Well, the date asks for a fancier bouquet, so I'll make it prettier." She said from behind the counter, getting more branches and ribbons. "There it is."

"Thank you, Ino." He said and paid. He got the bouquet and turned around. When he was opening the front door, he was stopped by a shouting voice.

"Wait, Shika!" She ran to Shikamaru, taking a small box on her apron's pocket, giving it to him.

"What's that?"

"Chocolate, silly, I made it." She smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Thanks, Ino."

He waved and finally left the shop. Ino smiled dumbly to the nightingale. The bird was also happy, even though he knew what he needed to do. A bad feeling was sensed by the tiny animal, as he flew towards the frozen rosebush. He sang, trying to make it bloom. And of course, it was useless. It was a shame the nightingale knew exactly what the only solution was.

When the last customer left the store late at night, Ino closed the store. That February 14th drained all her energies. She whistled to call the nightingale, but didn't get a tweet as a response. She walked through the flower bushes and found him on the floor, in front of the flowerless rosebush. She sighed and took the bird with both hands.

"She's sleeping, nightingale, and she'll wake up only on summer."

The nightingale knew it wasn't the case, since he was willing to make the rosebush bloom forcefully. She left the bird on the kitchen counter and got him food. She stretched lazily and headed to her room, finding six champagne roses, a note and a box of chocolates. She took the box and ate a chocolate while she read the note.

" _Champagne Roses: as beautiful as your virtues_."

Her heart asked itself when he would confess. Her mind prepared itself for when it'd finally happen.

* * *

Ino woke up in the middle of the night when she heard the loud singing of her nightingale. She turned the lights on and sought for him throughout the whole house. When she realized he was on the greenhouse, she shrugged and decided to get more sleep. She woke up a second time when she heard a keen note, that, when finally ended, was replaced by a sepulchral silence. It was weird, but Ino knew it'd be better if she investigated at morning.

"AH!" She screamed upon entering the roses' aisle. "What happened with ya, little buddy?" Ino walked to the nightingale that was laying on the floor, motionless. She started crying when reality hit her. "You…" She couldn't finish the sentence.

The nightingale was dead.

The once frozen rosebush now showed seven beautiful roses, completely red.

Ino took the bird and put him inside a little wooden box, with a gillyflower by his side. She went to the back of the greenhouse and started digging with her scoop. The nightingale's death hit her so hard, and she was so kind that she couldn't just throw the little body away on the trash. She would bury him. Ino didn't even hear the door bell ringing, she was crying too loudly.

"Are you crying?" Shikamaru's voice was heard, and he kneeled beside Ino.

"The nightingale." She cracked. "My nightingale, Shika." The ponytailed soon connected the dots – the wooden box, the gillyflower. Gillyflowers were the flowers of the dead.

"Do you know what happened?" He asked softly, hugging Ino. He didn't care if his clothes were getting dirty.

"He was singing late at night. And then he wasn't singing anymore. Today I found him like this. And the rosebush bloomed."

"Which one?" Shikamaru asked while getting up, helping Ino afterwards.

"This one." They both stopped in front of the red rosebush.

"Do you know a short story called 'The Nightingale and the Rose'? The author is Oscar Wilde."

"I don't."

"The nightingale is the lover's bird. The story is about a student that wants to take the girl he loves to the prince's party. The girl said she would go with him if he gave her a red rose."

"What happened?"

"The red rosebush was frozen due the winter's coldness, and couldn't bloom. The only solution for it to bloom was a nightingale singing its most beautiful song under the moonlight, while piercing its heart with the rosebush's thorn."

"The nightingale did that?"

"For the lovers' sake."

"And what happened to the boy?"

"He was happy because he got the red rose, but the girl turned him down."

"Why?"

"She was greedy. The prince's cousin gave her jewels."

"That's cruel."

"Your nightingale did the exact same thing as the story's bird."

"Why?"

"For the lovers' sake. But if it will be fruitless or not, Ino, it will depend on you."

"On me?" She looked confused to Shikamaru.

"Today's my last order. I want seven red roses."

" _Seven red roses_ …" She repeated on a semi-mute whisper.

She got the flowers, that seemed to be pulsing, so red they were. And for the second time, Ino interrupted Shikamaru before he could leave the shop.

"Shikamaru."

"Yes?"

"When we talk about flowers, this is the greatest confession someone can make. I hope she likes you back."

Shikamaru smiled and winked lightly, leaving a stunned Ino behind the counter. Shikamaru had erased the last bit of doubt that she still had. She daydreamed the entire day, waiting for the night to come by. As soon as it happened, and she started walking towards the door, the bell rang.

"I'm sorry, we're already closed." She said and looked confused to the door. There was nobody there. "Jeez, am I crazy now?"

When she finally turned around, she almost fell down, so startled she got. Shikamaru was waiting behind her, his hands holding the red roses bouquet. He waited for Ino to catch her breath and said:

" _ **Red Roses, as sincere as my love**_."

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm so sorry for killing the poor nightingale, but the ones who knew the story before hand... It was needed! The nightingale died for the lovers' sake! A toast to the nightingale buddy!

Toph, I hope you like it. Even though I don't like this one specific ship, it was actually fun to write it. I also only slept 3 hours because of this little thing haha˜

See you guys soon. One shot or on another chapter of After, I don't really know˜

 _Pop's out!_


End file.
